school funding | Schools Week

School funding chiefs at education committee: 9 things we learned

Government school funding bosses were quizzed by MPs this morning about catch-up funding, the pupil premium and school spending. The Parliamentary education committee held a hearing with Department for Education director of strategic finance Tony Foot, director for qualifications, curriculum and extra-curricular Graham Archer and Education and Skills Funding Agency director of academies and maintained […]

1 in 8 LA-maintained schools now in deficit as primaries’ financial health worsens

One in eight local authority-maintained schools were in deficit in the last financial year, up from less than one in ten the year before. Local authority school expenditure data, published by the Department for Education today, found the proportion of LA schools in deficit rose to 12 per cent in 2019-20, up from 9.9 per […]

Alternative provision in crisis: deficits, closed sites and restructures

A leading alternative provision setting is being forced to close a specialist site due to a creaking high-needs funding system exacerbated by Covid. Others facing six-figure deficits are considering restructures. The London East Alternative Provision (LEAP) will have to close the Tommy Flowers Vocational Centre in Whitechapel at the end of the year despite delivering […]

Real-terms boost from extra school funding wiped out by Covid

Per-pupil funding actually fell in real terms this year after changes to prices as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic were taken into account, leaving the government short of its target to boost budgets to above 2010 levels. New analysis by the Department for Education shows average per-pupil funding for five to 16-year-olds fell by […]

Deprived schools will struggle to meet Covid costs, finds NFER report

One in four schools may not be able to meet Covid-related costs despite increased funding from government, and deprived schools will be among the hardest-hit, a new report has found. Analysis by the National Foundation for Educational Research found that existing inflationary pressures, such as teacher pay rises, mean the £2.6 billion increase in school […]

DfE pledges staff absence funding to keep schools open, but only after reserves are raided

The government has said it will help cover the costs of staff absences to keep schools open this term, but leaders will have to deplete their reserves before becoming eligible. The Department for Education has today announced the creation of a short-term “Covid workforce fund”, which will be backdated to November 1 and will cover […]

£30k starting salary pledge remains, and 5 other things we learned from the spending review

The chancellor Rishi Sunak has launched his spending review, which sets out how public services will be funded in the 2021-22 financial year. Most notably for schools, the spending review includes a pay freeze for public sector workers earning over the median salary. Here’s what we learned. 1. £30k starting salaries still the plan, […]

Schools miss out as £2.2m cut from overhauled support scheme

The government has cut funding promised to schools for improvement support after the scheme was repurposed to help leaders struggling with educational issues or remote learning during the pandemic. Under a new recovery scheme, schools can request an “experienced system leader” for up to five days to “help them overcome the challenges faced or exacerbated” […]

Schools wait for £50m in Covid costs

The government is yet to pay out a third of the cash requested to deal with the costs associated with keeping schools safe during the coronavirus pandemic, despite already settling 95 per cent of claims. Almost £50 million claimed by schools has still not been paid out of the exceptional costs fund. The criteria for […]